JA puppy brushing, grooming, itching,

Hi all ..

I have a 4 month old JA and was wondering how often should i brush him? I tend to brush him once every 2 days coz he has been losing a bit of his fur. But I thought puppy coats doesnt fall off until they are 7-8 months old but each time i brush him he loses a lot of fur.

Im only using a slicker brush at the moment and should i purchase another brush (if so what type?). My breeder said I should brush him against the direction of his fur grows and was wondering if anyone can give me a bit of advice on this please..


I also noticed he itches quite often and i think he must have dry scalp coz he has no fleas. He did have a bit of dander a week ago but this has decreased since i started adding omega 3 into his diet but the itching remains.
I have only washed him once since i got him but that was only because he got really really dirty that day....

I sometimes wonder if its his diet also that is causing his itching so here is an example as to what he eats each day:
- steamed chicken breast meat with rice, steamed green beans, carrot and 30% Acana puppy large breed kibble
- in the morning i will add a boiled or poached egg in his first meal then the other meal will probably have a bit of liver, pork or fish.

(I plan on converting to a raw (barf) diet someday but maybe when he is older. But thats a discussion for another day lol)

Thanks for your feedback ;-)

Comments

  • I would be concerned by his constant itching and loss of coat. You may want to take him to your vet to check for allergies or a skin disease. Hopefully its the former and not the latter; food allergies are easier to control and deal with.
  • edited April 2012
    Four months is a little young to be presenting a food allergy.

    Blowing the puppy coat can happen earlier depending on genetics, climate, etc. It sounds like puppy coat blow, but honestly, I would take him to the vet just to be on the safe side to rule out mites or other skin conditions.

    With the dry skin/dandruff, you may also want to think about adding a fish or salmon oil supplement to his food if you have not already (I noticed the omega 3, but not sure what you are actually adding).
  • they are omega 3 fish oil but i will switch to salmon oil and see if that fares better. He is dropping into the vet on Fri so will update then
    tnx
  • Just an update on this post.

    Brought K'Umon to the vet yesterday and everything was clear, no fleas, mites, allergies etc. The vet said that his harness might be causing him to itch so Im going to replace that with something with a different material.

    The omega 3 fish oil seems to be working..the dander has died down an awful lot.

    The coat is still losing some fur, vet thinks it might be because the change of season or blowing his puppy coat...
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